Trader Joe's

Really, Eve? For produce, I would much rather shop at a Farmers Market! Even with a TJs next door.

But they aren’t Wal-Mart, I swear… :slight_smile:

Just moved to a neighborhood with Trader Joe’s, but never been. Guess where I’m going shopping this weekend! <wiping away drool…>

Over the past year or so, a strip mall maybe 4 blocks from my home replaced its 2 largest tenants with a TJs and a Binnys practically next door to each other. Stroll over there on a Sat aft, and you’ll stagger home pleasantly sated.

Well, the Farmer’s Market is going out of business, so I guess there’ll be no produce at all to be had . . . Thanks, Trader Joe . . .

Are you sure Trader Joe’s is “running it out of business”? Maybe it was in financial touble already, and TJ’s is just moving into the vacancy.

I went to Trader Joe’s again at lunch. Got some more of that roast beef. The guy who cooks wasn’t there today, but they had a cheese and crackers variety. I ended up buying some colby. I’m trying the store-brand soy milk. I got one plain and one vanilla. I’ll see how it stacks up next to the other brand I like. And I’m trying the Thai Style Green Curry meal. I was really looking at the Masala simmer sauce, but I decided to wait a bit.

As I was walking across the parking lot with my co-worker who drove, I realized I’m on the motorcycle today. I hope everything fits into my backpack!

I very much doubt TJ’s would have a great effect on a farmers market. Tj’s has some good value items, but much is more expensive and could be undercut. Also the one thing TJ is very bad for is fresh produce, though of good quality it is only sold in prefilled bags, so you get no chance to pick the fruit or vegi’s by hand. A nearby TJ’s would I believe enhance the sales of a good vegetable market. And TJ does not sell big brand items, so the other market could sell as much coke and hersheys and … as it likes without competition.

Nope, the Farmer’s Market is definitely closing up shop. Some of the vendors are going to move to the new Trader Joe’s—but I wonder if the fresh produce vendors will be able to, from what you say? And the Amish are out (they have terrific meats and fresh-baked items, as well as fresh-squeezed juice).

Great old Farmer’s Market, I will be really annoyed if Trader Joe’s runs it out of business and can’t provide an equivalent selection and quality . . .

But is Trader Joe’s “driving it out of business”? Or is the Farmer’s Market “closing up shop” and TJ’s is just stepping in to replace it when it does?

At my TJ’s you have to wait in line just to park. I see cars sometimes backed up waiting in the middle of the street left turn lane.

Farmer’s markets generally run with pretty small margins, don’t they? I suppose it could be a money issue rather than a competition issue.

Or it could be that we are just racing to the defense of our favorite specialty market.

Best thing about Trader Joe’s? The UNsalted super crunchy all natural PB. bliss.

There’s a Barnes & Noble right next door to the Trader Joe’s near me.

Heh. There’s a Trader Joe’s next to the Closest REI to me.

I got back from my run to Trader Joe’s about 45 minutes ago. Handy’s right, I had to wait awhile to find a parking space. Once in, I purchased yogurt, potstickers, croissants, assorted munchies, etc. I purchased some vegetables as well, but the selection is not as large as a supermarket and certainly not as good as a farmer’s market. I go to Trader Joe’s for new items to kick up my regular groceries.

Having a Trader Joe’s in the same shopping center is beneficial to just about all other nearby food stores. They attract food-conscious consumers who are interested in fun and different items–perfect for a farmer’s market. Chain supermarkets seems to do OK near them too–place to pickup all the mundane stuff Trader Joe’s doesn’t carry.

I haven’t tried the two-buck chuck, but I just purchased a couple bottles of the three-buck Argentine offerings–Cab and Malbec–the latter being fairly unusual. Maybe tomorrow (Sunday) I will sample one of 'em and report back.

Recent goodies I recommend–the frozen Argentine red shrimp is the best frozen shrimp I have had in a long time–has a real lobster-like taste and I haven’t had any with that awful freezer burn that plagues much frozen shrimp.

Jarred morello cherries are heavenly in pancakes and the liquid makes a great syrup if ya add a little arrowroot. The dried rainier cherries are a hit with my kids, a real northwest treat–they tend to fly off the shelves around here.

I also recommend the $7 Spanish Dragon red wine, just a few bottles left in the store I patronize. A deep rich taste that tastes so much fuller if you let it sit open for an hour or so–unlike so many Australian and Chilean and cheap US reds that are ready to drink right after opening.

That’s different, IME. None of the TJ’s stores I’ve been to have any outside vendors in them.

Eve, use your head. What happened here?

As I understand your story, the Farmers’ Market was occupying some space. They’ve been forced to close or relocate because a TJ’s has bought or rented that space. Now, children, what does this tell us?

  1. If the Farmers’ Market owned the space, they willingly sold out to TJ’s.

Maybe they weren’t making money and needed to sell, or maybe the offer was too good to turn down. If the latter, then chances are someone else would have soon made a similar offer. Either way, the Farmers’ Market was going.

  1. If they were renting, then either their lease ran out, or they couldn’t pay the rent.

If the latter, it wasn’t TJ’s fault. If the former, they couldn’t afford to renew at the going rate, and TJ’s could.

In any event, real estate prices are set by the market. If it hadn’t been TJ’s, it likely would have been somebody else. Be mad at TJ’s all you want, Eve. But you need more than “the Farmers’ Market is closing, and a TJ’s is opening in its location” to show that the TJ’s is somehow “running them out of business”.

That you say some of the vendors are “moving to the new Trader Joe’s” is somewhat confusing; TJs is not a farmer’s market. Individual vendors don’t rent space there, its a retailer that sells a large number of its own products, plus other products they’ve deemed to fit their niche. If Trader Joe’s is actually altering its business model in this particular instance and providing retail space for displaced farmers, I’d consider this pretty damn altruistic of them. Either that, or there are some sketchy facts here.

No, the T.J.'s is not taking over the Farmer’s Market’s old space; they are building a whole new venue a block or so away. They are so huge and have so much money behind them that the Farmer’s Market realized there is no way they can compete, so they are simply closing up shop. Some of the Farmer’s Market vendors are going to move to the new T.J.'s, but many of the others–whom I’ve been buying from for 20-some years–are simply going to go out of business.

What the hell–groceries are just as cut-throat as any other business, and I’m sure Joe and his Traders are losing no sleep over this.

I hope this thread is not turning into an argument! While I would like to know if the Farmer’s Market was closing anyway or if Trader Joe’s actually forced them to close, I’d hate for any hard feelings to be generated.

Eh, I’m over it–what’s done is done, and I’ll probably have to shop at the T.J.'s when I visit my mother. If the Farmers aren’t out there picketing, why should I?